An Off Day
by reluctantfangirl213
Summary: "Cinnamon and gun grease. That was all Jay could think about. The smell surrounded him and clouded his mind." One-shot for Linstead. I saw a clip where Erin is sitting on Jay's desk and I couldn't help but wonder how he felt about that and what he was thinking. There was no stopping me writing this after that. Enjoy and please comment!


An Off Day

_Cinnamon and gun grease._ That was all Jay could think about. The smell surrounded him and clouded his mind. He couldn't focus on anything the new tech guy was saying. It was important, too. An important case. But Halstead's senses were being assaulted by the spicy, sweet scents mingling together and perfuming the air. Her smell. _Erin. _He fisted his hands against his eyes. Not that that really helped clear his head or his nostrils. _Damn everything. _

His partner had developed the annoying habit of perching herself on his desk—directly in his line of sight—during debriefing, and she made it damned hard to concentrate. This had started several weeks prior when the detectives from New York had worked with them. One of them commandeered Erin's desk, so she'd hopped onto his, her legs tantalizingly close to his own. She'd angled her body away from him, but that only made her hair waft in front of his face until he was hypnotized. If she had been aware of his discomfort that day-and he suspected she had-she didn't do anything to make it easier on him. Now nearly every case she innocently found a reason to settle herself onto his desk.

Of course, it wasn't just the desk sitting that was driving him crazy. It was the standing too close and the sly smiles and the fleeting glances. She had gotten under his skin and seemed to revel in it. Or maybe he was just losing his mind. Maybe he'd just never allowed the effects of her…proximity...to undo him until recently. Forbidden fruit and all that.

Erin laughed softly at whatever was being said and flipped her hair over her shoulder. Jay idly wondered at the two different smells that were so distinctly Erin. The cinnamon—was it perfume, shampoo, something she'd eaten? It was so constant that he suspected one of the first two options. Likely shampoo then, since Erin didn't seem like the perfume type. The gun grease's source was less of a mystery. It was RIG, her favorite brand. She wiped down her service pistol with the stuff every night after work. The grease's sweet, biting fragrance was fainter than the spicy cinnamon, but still detectable. The two scents shouldn't have worked so well together, but God knows they did. He rubbed his eyes again, trying in vain to scrub away his pathetic obsession.

"Don't you think Halstead?" Ruzek queried, clearly seeking back up.

Jay dropped his hand from his eyes and looked up abruptly. Ruzek watched him expectantly. When he didn't answer the rest of the team also turned their attention to him. "Well," he began slowly.

"Oh for Christ's sake. He was taking a damned nap. I guess we're boring him. Finish up Smith, and no Ruzek, it isn't a good idea," Voight barked, shooting Jay an irritated look.

Jay winced. _Get it together. _He forced himself to focus on Smith, which worked for half a second, until the cinnamon-RIG perfume intensified in strength. Erin had twisted her body back towards his and leaned down until her hair softly brushed his shoulder and her face was in line with his own.

Her raspy voice whispered, "Are you alright?"

He flashed his gaze towards her. _Bad idea._ Now her luminous hazel eyes, filled with concern, were imprinted in his brain along with her smoky voice and delicious scent and caressing hair. His intent to return his attention to Smith as soon as possible was quickly forgotten.

"I'm fine!" Jay snapped, suddenly reclining until his shoulders hit the back of the chair. He needed to put some distance between them before he did something stupid. _She isn__'__t yours, _he reminded himself for the hundredth time that day.

Hurt flickered across Erin's face and she leaned back as well, giving his brain a brief reprieve. She didn't move quickly enough for him to fail to notice her low-cut shirt. He squeezed his eyes shut. _Dear God. Aren't there department rules against that or something?_

The sudden silence made his stomach drop. He'd said that out loud. He opened his eyes to find everyone staring at him again.

"Against using the cameras to track a car?" Atwater asked, clearly baffled.

Smith was flustered and babbled, "I mean, maybe the private ones because they require some hacking, but haven't you always used the cameras that way…?" Smith wasn't even his name. Voight had started calling every new tech guy that since none of them lasted more than a week.

"Haven't you? I mean I could try something else…um…" Smith was still babbling.

"What? No, I—" Jay began distractedly. God, he missed Jin. Erin was giving him that concerned face again, but at least she kept her distance. "Never mind."

Voight rolled his eyes. "OK, thank you Smith. Olinsky and Ruzek go with him to get the footage and then discuss sniper vantage points at the meeting site. Atwater, Dawson, with me. Erin and Halstead, go check out the sister. And for the sake of my sanity Erin, get your partner a cup of coffee!"

The others rapidly stomped down the steps, their chattering and laughter growing fainter as they moved further away. Erin slid off the desk and crossed the room to grab her jacket. "So, what do you think the sister knows?"

"Sister?" Jay repeated stupidly as he stood up.

Erin shrugged her jacket on and planted her hands on the desk between them. She leaned across the messy surface to stare at him. Having to look at her eye-to-eye wasn't helping his case. And that shirt. _Jesus. _

"What is going on with you?" Erin's voice cracked a little, and Jay couldn't tell if it was out of concern or just part of her deep voice.

"Nothing, just tired," he said lamely, as he edged around her.

Erin didn't appear convinced, but she let it go. He reached for the car keys, but she snagged them first. Her superior smirk should have annoyed him, as it had their first month as partners, but now it just made his stomach think it was an acrobat. He inhaled her scent again and let himself drown in the spicy sweetness. It wasn't until he almost walked into the door frame that his brain awakened from its fragrance-induced stupor and screamed, _Not yours! _

As they trotted down the stairs to the first floor, she hazarded a mischievous glance in his direction. "So, I wonder what made Voight change his mind. He basically just told me to get you a drink...well, coffee at least. That's awfully close to telling me to go ahead and date you." She winked at him and sauntered by Platt's desk.

Jay's stomach lurched for the second—or was it third?—time that morning. He scrambled after her. "Wait, what? No it isn't!"

With a laugh, Erin shoved his shoulder. "Don't sound so horrified. I'm not asking or offering or anything. Kelly probably wouldn't be down with making our dates into threesomes." She pushed through the precinct's doors and jogged to the driver's side of their car.

Jay bit back a growl at the sound of Severide's name. So it was Kelly now. He'd never expected the fireman to stay with Erin this long. The rumor had been that Severide moved through women rapidly, so Jay hadn't been overly worried when he'd started dating Erin. Which made Jay a huge idiot. How stupid of him not to worry, and to try to ignore that Erin was seeing someone seriously, and then to attempt to use his high school girlfriend as his rebound girl. He slammed the car door as he sat down. Her scent was stronger in the car. He hated his life.

"Good thing we didn't 'do' anything after all," she said, emphasizing the "do" with a quirk of her eyebrows. "You seem to be over the idea of dating me. And it's only been a few weeks."

She was teasing, but Jay felt unamused. His emotions seesawed between anger and hurt for a split second. Anger nearly won, and he almost snarled at her, _You__'__re the one screwing the fireman. _But, thankfully, his sense of reason halted him with the reminder that _he_ was the one who'd agreed that he was fine with keeping things between them professional. Which had obviously NOT been the truth. So, rather than jeopardize their friendship too, he settled for not answering her and letting hurt win. The bitter taste that had been crawling up his throat settled in his mouth and he looked away from her. The silence stretched through the car.

"Jay?" Erin finally asked softly. The upbeat humor was gone from her voice.

_Great, I upset her. _Jay cursed himself, _Stupid, stupid. God, could I just NOT be an idiot for once?_

"I—I was just kidding…" Erin trailed off uncertainly when he still said nothing.

"I know, I'm sorry. I'm just—having an off day," Jay managed, trying to keep his voice neutral. He had to get his shit together. The smile he plastered across his face felt grim and fake, but he hoped she wouldn't notice.

Erin bit her lip and glanced at him. The hesitation went on long enough that he was afraid she was angry, or worse, was going to press him for details. Instead, she smiled and appraised him from the corner of her annoyingly beautiful eyes. Her upbeat tone seemed a little forced, but she said, "You seem to be having a lot of those lately."

"You have no idea," Jay muttered.

"What?"

"Nothing."


End file.
